Several groups in town are trying to halt the “butchering” of the Crape Myrtle trees.
A plea went out in last month’s newsletter of the Paris Golf and Country Club educating members of proper pruning techniques. And members of the Paris Garden & Study Club also sent a letter to the city asking them to please reconsider cutting off the tops of the Crape Myrtles.
Unfortunately, pruning crape myrtles by “cutting off the tops” has become commonplace.
Master Gardener Neil Sperry mentioned in his column recently that removing old seed pods is unnecessary to future blooming and takes time and labor that can be used in other landscape chores. It is a time and money saver NOT to prune.
This trend has become popular since the lush growth that occurs at these cut sites appears vigorous but is actually structurally weak and is more susceptible to fungus diseases such as powdery mildew. Worse yet, when pruning is done improperly over several seasons, large, swollen, unsightly knobs form at the point where pruning is done each year. Some folks refer to this pruning method for crape myrtles as “crape murder.”
Instead, decide if any trees even need to be pruned. Examples of appropriate reasons for pruning include eliminating crossed and rubbing branches, removing low branches, removing weak, thin branches from the inner part of the tree, trimming off old seed pods, creating a shapelier tree and keeping suckers removed from the base of the trunk. Avoid cutting back or shortening branches larger than your finger, although cutting larger branches back to a side branch or to the trunk, when needed, is fine.
